I really like Jason Shadow's "Ascendent" Destiny. I tried to play it, but in practice it didn't hold up very well against Most of the other destinys... so heres my tribute the Jason Shadow's awesome idea. a destiny with the same goal in mind but a little different in execution. Thank you Jason Shadow for giving me the idea.

Special: When you choose this Destiny, select one Concept that you seek to embody. This concept should fall under one of these broad categories:Aspects of the natural world, types of terrain (Desert, Forest) or even a specific sentient race (Unicorn, Griffon). Emotions (rage, compassion, mirth), or philosophical Ideals, (Justice, Beauty, or Industry. Certain "substances" that traditionally carry a spiritual or symbolic connotation. (Air, Water, Earth, Fire, Metal, Wood, Light, Darkness, Blood, etc.)* Concepts that cannot be used are at GM’s digression.

At level 4:Beyond Mortal understanding:Whenever you use a skill in a situation where your Concept is clearly involved, then you gain a +5 bonus in that skill. Additionally, if Beyond Mortal Understanding comes into play for this skill check, then a roll of natural 20 counts as a Cutie Mark Critical; if it already would have, then a natural 19 also counts.

At level 7:Body reflects the mind:automatically gain the "mechanical" racial trait, from here on out you are considered a Magical golem constructed from your concept or from related materials, avatars of immaterial concepts such as emotions or ideals should be treated as if made from "Energy" or straight magic. You are also un-effected by environmental hazards associated with your concept and produce the material you are made of in a manor similar to the “Elemental Born” genetic traits. Avatars of emotion and or ideals gain this as a magical version of “thunder bird.”

At level 10: Awaken the sleeping god.You have transcended your mortal form and become the living embodiment of your Concept. Although you are still young and have yet to gather your full power, there are still some immediate benefits.Your appearance changes to match your personality and Concept. Your natural, true form becomes three times larger than your original and has an appearance that is nothing short of legendary - whether alicorn, draconequus, changeling Queen, adult dragon, or something completely new, this Form commands fear and respect. You may shift between your True Form and your original at willyou may choose one of the following destiny perks whichever best suits your concepts flavor:

Memetic Aura- (3/Day)- this is the option for those who select an ideal or emotion. Preparation Time: 5 MinutesFor the next 10 minutes all creatures within 50 feet of you become predisposed toward your concept. +10 to skill checks designed to make them react in a way that plays of this predisposition, for example an avatar of anger might whip a crowd into a mob. An avatar of serenity might quell one. An avatar of beauty might appeal to a guards vanity to get into the castle or an avatar of justice might talk down a hostage situation by asking the cultrate if what they are doing is the right thing. Additionally any creature effected gains a +1 to skill checks made in pursuit of their predisposed stance.

Welcome to MY world- (1/day/session?) for those who have aspects of nature or environmental conditions for concepts. Preparation time: 5 minutesThe user projects a bubble with a radius of 150 feet from the location of the user at the time of casting. Inside the bubble conditions change to match the Concept of the caster as if the surrounding environment had always been such. For example a bustling city could become an over grown ruin or a windswept wasteland when used by an avatar of the forest or dessert. An avatar of water might summon a torrential down-poor or an avatar of shadows a massive inky ball of darkness. While within their bubble of altered reality the caster gains their Beyond mortal Understanding bonus to all skill checks. The bubble is stationary and collapses after 1 d4 hours returning the environment to normal. No creature can be outright harmed by the creation of the bubble. For example if the Concept is fire and the terrain is lava pits all creatures present within the bubble will be miraculously standing on solid ground. Using this ability reverts you to your true form.

Note: Once you have received the Awaken the sleeping god ability, other beings of your power level - and higher - take notice in you. While they might let you finish your current quest without interference, they will generally not actions that directly clash with their concepts. Depending on the situation, the use of these abilities might just attract some unwanted attention from them.

I'm really just looking for thoughts/suggestions/criticisms/ concerns on this. i would appreciate any advice.

Last edited by acerbicCatharsis on Mon Dec 02, 2013 9:11 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : clarification.)

The level 10 looks pretty impractical for DMs to implement - requiring rather big world/setting changes (including effects of "memetic aura", the "warp reality" bubble, and the whole "beings take notice of you" deal. It also makes its +1 bonus slightly detrimental, since it can affect any creature, including those directly opposing you (that being their stance).

The level 7 one doesn't really seem all that useful - more like a 'flavor' upgrade than anything else, depending on what you picked as your aspect. You pretty much get two racials and that's it.

Level 4 looks okay, mechanics/benefit wise.

Lots of static roll bonuses, which aren't very exciting or creative. This is a destiny, it should have more oomph.

It's also has a feel that it can be pretty damn broken or abusable - just imagine if a player decides to become an embodiment of any of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Death, War, Pestilence, Hunger), or something as 'simple' as 'chaos' (effectively turning into Discord).

Zarhon wrote:The level 10 looks pretty impractical for DMs to implement - requiring rather big world/setting changes (including effects of "memetic aura", the "warp reality" bubble, and the whole "beings take notice of you" deal. It also makes its +1 bonus slightly detrimental, since it can affect any creature, including those directly opposing you (that being their stance).

The level 7 one doesn't really seem all that useful - more like a 'flavor' upgrade than anything else, depending on what you picked as your aspect. You pretty much get two racials and that's it.

Level 4 looks okay, mechanics/benefit wise.

Lots of static roll bonuses, which aren't very exciting or creative. This is a destiny, it should have more oomph.

It's also has a feel that it can be pretty damn broken or abusable - just imagine if a player decides to become an embodiment of any of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Death, War, Pestilence, Hunger), or something as 'simple' as 'chaos' (effectively turning into Discord).

I think that's the entire point of the destiny, what it comes down to: surrendering raw, palpable power from mechanics into flavor-oriented and ethereal power. And, in the hands of the skilled PH, it can be totally worth it without becoming broken. I wouldn't suggest it for the average campaign, but in one where there are already gods out and about, it can work pretty well.

The Level 7 racial ability has a lot of potential in the same way that "Sweet and Elite" does: it essentially raises you to a new class, with appropriate reactions to both skill checks and people, as well as a greater push and pull towards the world around you. You wouldn't say that the fame granted from the "Rockstar" destiny is superfluous or pointless, and I don't think that the slow march towards divinity is, either.

As for level 10, it's certainly powerful: but so is every other Level 10 Destiny as well! Archmage hands out free Magic points, Adventurer hands out free 20s, Metagamer hands out free OOC knowledge. They are supposed to be just a little bit broken, and I think this one hangs on that needle edge as well, powerful enough to allow a gamer to use it, limitable enough to allow a PH to rein it in, and with the biggest reward being flavor. And ultimate, this destiny is all about the flavor.

Well, most destinies have an approach of having a "value" of a number of utility talents for the levels. Can't remember what the numbers were anymore, though, but I think that the lvl10 is around 8 utilities, and lvl4 is 2-3 utilities.

I do see what you mean about there being a lot of passive bonuses. I don't really see that as a problem though, the whole thing is Very flashy by the end.on the other hand I don't see the level 10 as being that much more hard to manage for the GM then say plains shaper or Metagamer.

you are however COMPLETELY correct about the level 7 The whole idea is very flavor oriented and the level 7 perk especially so... and by the numbers it should be worth one more race point/ 2 ability points more then it is. if you can think of something that fits in both value and flavor let me know.

as for the point of picking a concept that is game breaking, well that's why i outright left it up to the GM to rule on what was an acceptable Concept. Thank you very much for your thought s to both of you.

Mechanically it seems to fit what it is, but I have two objections - one major and one minor:

Minor: The name is not very good, I'm not sure why this couldn't still be called the ascendant destiny; 'sleeping god' carries a hint of 'had the power all along' which I don't particularly like.

Major: whoever doesn't take this destiny is getting the short end of the stick, story wise. For as powerful as the other level tens are, they don't conjure insanely powerful npcs into the plot... An archmage might be powerful, a mindslaver might be able to pull suggestions on the populace, and a miracle worker might provoke awe from their conquering of death... but when you put literal gods into the system with any kind of relevant powers, it's very nearly guaranteed to become 'a god and their entourage.'

I'm actually in a campaign where one of the characters stole godhood from the bad guys; but the inevitable tension resulting from the inequality (that MUST exist conceptually, even if avoided mechanically) had said character get the god treatment for the rest of the party as well (she was always planning to, but it took long enough that the issues became clear.)

I see what your saying, and i actually agree with you on the name. i sorta just gave it a name on the spot to differentiate it from the already existing "Ascendent" .If you have a better idea for a name feel free to suggest it but im not going to call it the same thing as Jason Shadow's already existing work.

as for summoning high powered beings into the plot? chances are if your campaign is going past the point where party members are level 10 you where dealing with some insainly powerful opponents anyway. that was more for flavor and lifted almost straight from the "Ascendent" destiny. its even so helpful as to point out that they only show up if directly opposed which would mean they would have to exist in the setting already anyway, if you dont have them in your setting feel free to ignore that part.

Zarhon wrote:It's also has a feel that it can be pretty damn broken or abusable - just imagine if a player decides to become an embodiment of any of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Death, War, Pestilence, Hunger), or something as 'simple' as 'chaos' (effectively turning into Discord).

Chaos? Try "Bad Luck". I even have a character who could conceivably become such a god; now that, my friends, isn't pretty.